Are You Tired of Watching Rappers, Rap over a CD player and Call It a Show?

            I am. I'm sick and tired of it. My name's $antiago, also known as dollar sign a.n.t.i.a.g.o., aka Nutty Ago, 1 half of Se7en17 and owner of Knockinationz Media, LLC.

            I've  been writing and rapping since I was 15, been recording since I was 17. I have somewhere around 60 songs (solo and featuring me) under my belt. I've done 20+ live shows, recorded a solo album, entitled “Bad Newz”, available in stores now www.cdbaby.com/santiagomusic. I’ve recorded a 30 track mixtape, which I have mixed feelings about, since I feel like the whole idea behind the mixtape game, is kind of a coward move. The idea of rapping over beats of known hit songs, simply to make yourself sound more marketable. If I was going to start focusing my music on sounding more marketable, I might as well stop making music tonight.

            Instrumental producers are great, for studio recordings, but it's the ones who actually think about the lyricist's flow that they're making the beat for, that stand out. For example, Dr. Dre makes a beat knowing only Eminem can rap on it, or Timbaland is called in to record a song for Talib Kweli and says to himself, "I need to make the beat with Talib in the studio giving me feedback, because I have never worked with this cat before".

            At any rate, live shows with a rapper, playing a beat off a CD, is okay I guess, but it's not for me. Anybody that says no is missing the whole point of where rap music came from. Rappers rapped over sampled beats in the 70's and 80's as a necessity, because they couldn't get bands to back them up, simply because the genre wasn't respected yet. But it's 2008 and believe me rap music is respected on a worldwide level. And there's plenty of rap acts who utilize a band in thier live shows, look at The Roots, Rage Against The Machine, Linkin Park, 311, Kottonmouth Kings, Cypress Hill, Tech N9ne, the list goes on.

            In my opinion, any respectable emcee in 2008 has either a band or a very skilled DJ, providing their music in a live show. Any punk can grab a beat off www.soundclick.com/instrumentals and whine about his life, in between telling me to "lean with it, rock with it" or "super soak dat hoe”. F that! Is this what real music has come to?

            So I want to start a band. I can rap (sing a little') and have no problem being one of 2 front men/emcees for this band. Kind of like "The Roots", they are hands down the illest. Something like "Rage Against The Machine" meets, "Wu Tang Clan", definitely fires me up, but I dig everything from Smokey Robinson to Godsmack. I need a bassist, a drummer, a guitarist or 2, a keyboardist and possibly a DJ. If you're already a band and looking to do a rap/funk/rock project with a talented emcee like me, than this is perfect.

            I DO NOT NEED EMCEES!!! I have many, many friends that flow, that record locally, which are seriously pursuing music careers, promoting albums and doing shows, that would love to be a part of this project. But if you are a front man/singer of a band and looking to add an emcee to the act (something like Linkin Park), PLEASE REPLY!! I can most likely find the rehearsal space, but if you already know of one, that's even better. I have the recording equipment, the recording education and the recording experience to back ALL of that up.

            I don't credit myself as a producer or studio engineer, but in the process of wanting certain projects completed in a timely manner, without dealing with the lackadaisical attitude of the average unpaid musician, I've mixed over 40 songs myself. To hear some of my songs, all of which I mixed in my own studio, go to:

            cdbaby.com/santiagomusic (my album "Bad Newz!", avail. here)

            myspace.com/santiagospace

            isound.com/santiago  (my ring tones, avail. here)

            jamwave.com/santiago

            mymusicsite.com/santiago

Any takers??

            I'm sending a special message especially to emcees. Stop Rapping Over Cheap Beats. Do Not Waste Your Money Buying Beats, There's A Million Free Beats On Soundclick.com, So That Tells You How Lame That Approach Is. DO NOT RAP FOR THE FAME OR FOR MONEY!!! If you love hip hop get a job, slang some weed or live off your girlfriend, until you get a record deal. The more money you think about while your rapping, the weaker your rhymes sound, trust me, WE CAN ALL TELL!

$antiago....the new hip hop revolution mastermind.

Hit me up with your thoughts and ideas.  email me…snbg@juno.com

Let's create absolute change!